The officially unofficial Android 2.2 upgrade list

One of the questions we hear on Twitter and through the contact page most often is "will my phone get Froyo?" I can't blame anyone for asking, or for wanting it, cause all the changes are oh so nice. Our standard answer has always been what we can confirm with the manufacturers, which to be fair and honest, isn't much yet. Trust me, we bug them because we're Android fanatics and want to know just as much as you all do :)

Thankfully, there's always speculation and rumors to tide us over until we get word (or even better, see that update available screen). We talk about it on the Podcast. We talk about it with each other via e-mail. We talk about it in the forums. We want it. When a reader sent in a tip that PC World has compiled a list of phones and their upgrade to Froyo status, it got our attention. We can't vouch for anything on the list, so insert a grain of salt the size of a beach ball, follow the break and check it out. [with a tip of the hat to Computer World via PC World] Thanks lastdetailwd!

Phones not expected to get Froyo:

List of phones where the upgrade looks 'iffy':

Remember, none of this is set in stone yet. Carriers and manufacturers have a ton to do with it. And PC World's list here is a good one. I honestly believe that Google and the carriers would like every phone to get Froyo, just to unify things a bit. Too bad I'm not in charge of the Division of Froyo Updates -- or maybe that's a good thing.

The Moment needs to get it so I do not have to shell out more money to buy a phone that is getting it like the Galaxy S or the EVO!! LOL I can't afford to keep doing this everytime there is a new Android OS out lol.

And one last comment from me for this thread...this isn't comprehensive, people. This is speculation based on, well, who knows? PC World had their reasons for making these predictions, and so that's said. But I'm not planning on any future purchases or assumptions of the future based solely on this list from a publication. The "news" has been wrong before, so I wouldn't get too worried until your vendor of choice gives an official thumbs down on any upgrade path.

Ok...this isn't really on topic, but does *anyone* understand the "take it with a grain of salt" metaphor? It means that the rumor (or whatever) is insignificant, like a grain of salt. Because a grain of salt is...small. Tiny. Insignificant. So, now, when everyone says to take something with a *big* grain of salt, they're actually saying that whatever they're talking about is more important. Because the grain of salt is bigger. What they (you) should really be saying is to take this with the tiniest grain of salt you can find. One that's microscopic.

/Rant

That being said, I agree...rumors like this are worse than meaningless, because they give people false hope.

On the plus side, nearly all Android phones can be rooted and set up with pretty much whatever version of the OS you want. I've had 2.2 on my Droid for weeks - it's running amazingly fast, with absolutely *zero* issues. And all for an investment of about half an hour to Google the instructions and do the deed.

I have seen this list to many times. Give me some info on when we can expect Froyo. 'H2 2010' is no good for me.. Stupid HTC!! Is giving atleast a Q3 or Q4 date so hard? Its like saying to a friend: 'yeah I will see you at the bar between 2 and 8 :\

So being a hero owner, I am a little bummed about this list. Is this how HTC is going to cycle updates. If your phone is a year old, you wont get updated? Yes, I understand the hero is a little...underpowered, but it seems they could modify the update to fit the phone....

Not to spawn an entirely new off-topic thread, but I wouldn't go that far to say Motorola and Google are underachievers in developing the software that every Droid user is taking advantage of - regardless of ROM hacks, etc. - when you consider driver development, and Android itself being what it is.

It's awesome that there are folks out there diligent enough, and skilled enough, to make these custom ROMs that fill a void until the official release is made available. But I find it just mildly amusing that people trash talk the vendors responsible for making this all a reality to begin with. The vendors ultimately owe it to the tens or hundreds of thousands of customers to ensure that the same ROM release works well for EVERYONE. We must allow for the development time and testing phases required to effectively isolate any faults that could possibly arise once the software is in the open and customers utilize it in thousands of different configurations with all the 3rd party software available along with various Bluetooth hardware, etc.

Personally, I don't look forward to a brand new release of software that cripples my headsets from working and causes calls to drop and my camera to take black and white photos all of the time, etc. These things just take time to be done successfully. This has all been said before, but don't quite follow why more people don't absorb or consider the above. Ultimately didn't really intend to rant, or provoke a debate, but felt compelled to throw in my two pennies...

Have you ever used a modded ROM? My guess is no. The fact is that from the time 2.2 was available, it was about a week before Pete had a working ROM available that is far faster, has greatly improved battery life, and is just as reliable as what came from Google, or more so. I've been running it for about two weeks now without a single issue.

Have you ever developed software for a large user base before? My guess is no.

I'm not going to discredit anything this guy did. It was exceptional, most definitely.

HOWEVER, the big difference is that I can guarantee you Pete didn't have as rigorous a "testing phase" as Moto and Google do, for instance. And he might very well wind up with very few bugs and a very efficient system. But there's always a huge disclaimer with these ROMs, specifically because it is still a risk to install them, and the end user takes that risk as their own responsibility.

Motorola and Google can't afford to do anything other than absolutely minimize the risk of failure/bugs. And obviously it still happens sometimes, but that's all the more reason to ensure that they test THOROUGHLY. Additionally there are layers of this testing--Moto does some then Verizon (or whatever carrier) does another set, which lengthens the time to launch OTA.

Again not discounting what this guy did, but it's more complicated than "Pete > Motorola + Google" (as was implied in the base poster of this reply chain) based on releasing a custom ROM before they release the official one.

I think that FroYo on any Android device would make that device sooooo much better. FroYo is not about features necessarily but more about optimization of Android OS. FroYo should be released on all devices, especially the older ones, to show how smooth 2.2 really is. Just my thoughts on the update.

VZW devices (Droid/Incredible) will see their updates about 2 weeks AFTER the Xtreme launches - wouldn't want happy Droid users reupping that contract and killing supply for newbies do ya? Droid first, Incredible to follow.

Evo... I am very hopeful that we would see this by the end of August. Everyone talks about Sense overlaying slowing the process, but the Sprint bloatware will always be a bigger problem. Look at the 2.1 release for the Moment vs. the Hero. It was only 2 weeks apart and the Moment is running a vanilla build. HTC already has test candidates to Sprint, so for now it's sit and wait for TA from Sprint.

On the others, I don't know that any of them have the numbers (besides the Nexus which depending on the daily rumor - already has 2.2 rolling out) to push for an update in a timely fashion. Not when manufacturers just got 2.1 on to half the devices.